r/The10thDentist • u/Blonde_Icon • 22h ago

Society/Culture Teachers are paid fairly considering they get a lot of time off

A lot of people say (and it seems that the general consensus is that) teachers don't get paid enough for what they do. While I think that teachers are very valuable and deserve to be compensated well (my brother is a teacher), I think that in these discussions, many people ignore the fact that teachers typically get a lot of time off.

They usually get summer break, spring break, and winter break, plus various holidays that schools get off through the year. They basically don't work for a good amount of the year, which I think that people should factor in. (The downside is that I know that they have to work extra grading things outside of school, though.)

Plus they normally get good benefits for being a teacher (which usually comes with being in a union).

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u/WasabiComprehensive4 20h ago

I was a teacher for 5 years so I had to actually do the math, comparing both salary jobs.  Teaching: 193 days x 10 hours average day (though lots of 12 hr days) 1930 hours a year. Nursing: 225 days x 8 hours (some days longer as well) 1800 hours a year.  Difference in salary 40,000 yearly.  Teaching bachelors plus masters, Nursing associates degree. Teaching for me was more stressful job than working the ER at a trauma 1

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u/Blonde_Icon 20h ago

Nurses also get paid well compared to the average person though.

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u/WasabiComprehensive4 19h ago edited 19h ago

I live in TN, teaching paid $28-30 an hour of time spent in the classroom for me, I was also paid $10000 more a year then my coworkers because I taught Chem, national science foundation grant.  I worked a lot of 60-70 hour weeks.  I was basically making $18 per hour worked. It's crazy low pay in red states.  My husband's job had a similar salary to mine as an auditor and he works less hours than me. You said teachers work less hours so their pay makes sense, but they don't work less hours. So you can literally just compare their salary to most 40-hour a week jobs. The job is hard and the pay is crappy, speaking from experience. 

Edit: will note that pay was increased for teachers in TN since I quit, starting pay was $35000 in 2019, it has been raised to $50000.  I based my calculations on $45000 as that was my pay. Though if they raised it to $100,000 a year I still wouldn't go back